ahlam1399
05-02-2016, 05:29 AM
Land protests spread
ALMATY: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, facing a growing wave of protests against planned changes to land ownership, evoked the image of war-torn Ukraine on Sunday as he called for national unity.
Speaking at an event in Almaty to mark the annual May 1 Unity Day celebrations, Nazarbayev highlighted Ukraine, where street protests in 2013-2014 toppled the government of Viktor Yanukovich, as an example of what could happen in the absence of unity.
"Ukraine, the second-biggest ex-Soviet state, today has an eco**my which is half the size of Kazakhstan’s," the president said. "Because there is ** unity, ** sense of purpose, ** tasks are being solved, people are busy with other things: fighting, killing, brawling.
"Though relatively small, the rallies are a challenge to Nazarbayev, 75, who has run the oil-rich Central Asian nation since 1989 with little tolerance for dissent since 1989. The collapse in global oil prices has hurt the eco**my and the government’s fiscal position, prompting Fitch Ratings to cut the country’s long-term sovereign debt ratings on April 29. The protests which are entering their second week, were sparked by fears that land reforms will allow foreigners to take over farmland, although some analysts say many Kazakhs have attended the demonstrations to express their general discontent.
A legal overhaul due to take effect on July 1 will allow the government to sell farmland to joint ventures, provided they are controlled by Kazakh residents, and lease it to foreigners for up to 25 years.
Previously they were only allowed leases for up to 10 years. Opponents of the new law, who staged their first protest in the city of Atyrau last Sunday, see the change as a threat to national security, especially after the government an**unced several agreements with neighbouring China for agricultural projects.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/World-TheNewsInternational/~4/iaioQ98hzR8
أكثر... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/World-TheNewsInternational/~3/iaioQ98hzR8/116829-Kazakh-leader-evokes-Ukraine)
ALMATY: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, facing a growing wave of protests against planned changes to land ownership, evoked the image of war-torn Ukraine on Sunday as he called for national unity.
Speaking at an event in Almaty to mark the annual May 1 Unity Day celebrations, Nazarbayev highlighted Ukraine, where street protests in 2013-2014 toppled the government of Viktor Yanukovich, as an example of what could happen in the absence of unity.
"Ukraine, the second-biggest ex-Soviet state, today has an eco**my which is half the size of Kazakhstan’s," the president said. "Because there is ** unity, ** sense of purpose, ** tasks are being solved, people are busy with other things: fighting, killing, brawling.
"Though relatively small, the rallies are a challenge to Nazarbayev, 75, who has run the oil-rich Central Asian nation since 1989 with little tolerance for dissent since 1989. The collapse in global oil prices has hurt the eco**my and the government’s fiscal position, prompting Fitch Ratings to cut the country’s long-term sovereign debt ratings on April 29. The protests which are entering their second week, were sparked by fears that land reforms will allow foreigners to take over farmland, although some analysts say many Kazakhs have attended the demonstrations to express their general discontent.
A legal overhaul due to take effect on July 1 will allow the government to sell farmland to joint ventures, provided they are controlled by Kazakh residents, and lease it to foreigners for up to 25 years.
Previously they were only allowed leases for up to 10 years. Opponents of the new law, who staged their first protest in the city of Atyrau last Sunday, see the change as a threat to national security, especially after the government an**unced several agreements with neighbouring China for agricultural projects.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/World-TheNewsInternational/~4/iaioQ98hzR8
أكثر... (http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/World-TheNewsInternational/~3/iaioQ98hzR8/116829-Kazakh-leader-evokes-Ukraine)